Reality OWD: Glamour Machine
| Reality OWD: Glamour Machine | |
|---|---|
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| Dates run: | January 8-10 |
| Run By: | Tapestry and Walks |
| Read the logs: | Reality OWD: Glamour Machine |
That's kind of a wild story, isn't it? And here, stories set precedence. They outline the rules.
eXcalibur investigates a series of disappearances on the Isle of Man connected with a dimensional flux.
Contents
Cast
Jay Guthrie, Jono Starsmore, Megan Gwynn, Meggan Szardos, Namor, Paige Guthrie
The Grand Dame, Unnamed Thrall, Citizens of the Otherworld
Timing
Plot Summary
eXcalibur detects an anomalous energy signature in the Irish Sea and debate before deciding to investigate. Jay emails Jono seeking his subject matter expertise into local folklore before the team leaves. Jono responds enthusiastically, resulting in an invitation as he and Paige are currently on vacation in Britain.
Two days later, the team arrives on the Isle of Man, where Jono and Paige join them — Namor laying down rules for their guest team members. They canvas the town for stories, split up to track the rift, and soon find themselves scattered in an otherworldly realm.
Jay and Jono awaken first and Jono quickly takes charge, negotiating their way forward with the fae-like locals. Meanwhile, Paige and Meggan find themselves locked behind bars and hear tales of the realm from fellow prisoners, learning of its politics and dangers. Dangers specifically for those appearing human. It turns out that these fae use the rift to abduct slaves.
In sharp contrast, Namor and Pixie are greeted warmly by the ruler of the realm, the Grand Dame, who reveals that she knew Pixie's mother — also that Pixie is half faerie herself. The Grand Dame pays her little mind after that, treating Namor to a royal tour that includes a mysterious device known as The Engine. Namor plays a dangerous game of politics to look for leverage.
As the Grand Dame shows them her kingdom, Jay and Jono navigate a surreal and advanced city en route to plead to the royal court.
Meggan and Paige escape using a clever combination of their powers, and crash into the the same royal reception just as Jay and Jono are introduced as entertainment. Namor takes advantage of the chaos — as well as Paige's new cold iron form — to negotiate a bit more aggressively. The group agrees to fix The Engine in exchange for their freedom.
Namor, Meggan, and Paige begin investigating The Engine's malfunction. Meggan’s empathetic affinity to see the magic of the realm and Paige’s current form offer unexpected aid, but a crucial component is missing. A spark of human (or mutant) ingenuity.
Jono, Jay, and Pixie propose a solution that is quite literal: Jono must ignite the engine from within. He channels his power via song to earn their freedom.
Their exit, however, is complicated when the Grand Dame tries to argue the terms of their deal due to Namor eating within her realm. Pixie forcefully intervenes, cutting the magical hold the Dame was leveraging with her soul knife.
The reunited team leaves, with Jay closing the rift as they cross back into their own world — sealing the passage behind them.
Related Links
External Links
xp_teams (2 teams posts)
xp_communication (Email from Jay to Jono)
Trivia and Meta
Trivia
The Holy Republic of Fae, Region of the Otherworld
Ruled by an unseen figure known as the Great Hierophant. Contrary to expectation, this area is characterized by superficial similarities to human industry: cities that ape human urbanization that seem grown from the rocks, trees, and fungi of the land without reason or consistency. Conveniences such as running water and “electricity” are in fact magic being generated by their local power source, the Engine. Currently the engine is manually powered by humans harvested from the main reality, enabled by a semi-regular thinning between the two worlds.
Inhabitants
Dozens, perhaps hundreds of different species reminiscent of being largely grouped under the definition of “the Fair Folk”. These include traditional elves, faeries, goblins, trolls, redcaps, etc. Those humans would classify as traditional elves tend to occupy the high courts, with the other races being relegated to the servant classes.
Language Barrier
None. Due to the ambient magic all languages spoken within are understood by the listeners.
Time Dilation
Inconsistent. During periods when the portals between worlds are open, time passes more quickly on Otherworld than reality. When the portals are closed it is the opposite, with human hostages being expelled after what they perceive to be months or years, only to find themselves displaced from their lives by decades.
Meta
Plotrunner: Tapestry and Walks
The Grand Dame appears in “What Happened to Cassidy Keep?!” (Lobdell, Scott and Jeph Loeb. What Happened to Cassidy Keep?!. Generation X, Vol. 1, #8, Marvel Comics, 1995)
